Unveiled Faces
Why do we live so much of our lives so out
of touch with the glory we possess? Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians
3:18, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the
Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with
ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the
Spirit.” This is true and a promise to be sure, but a rare
sight to see God’s glory on the face of His children.
In the same passage, Paul reminds us about how Moses used to wear a veil to hide
the fading glory that was on his face from spending time with God. He spoke of
how we are not to be like Moses who put a veil over his face. We are unveiled
before God and the world displaying the wonder of loving God and being loved
by Him.
How different do we who hold the glory of God inside of us by way of the Holy
Spirit appear to those of this world who do not have God’s glory in them?
Do we drive differently? Do we treat others differently? Do our faces look different?
What is it that displays God’s glory on our unveiled faces?
I just finished reading C.S. Lewis’ classic retelling of the Greek myth
of Cupid and Psyche called Till We Have Faces. The narrator Orual figures
out at a very young age that she is ugly. This leads her as an adult (along with
shame about something she doesn’t fully understand) to wear a veil to cover
her face. She lives her whole life until just before her death believing that
she is basically good and wise, just plagued with outward ugliness. Her adventure
with the gods helps her discover the real truth about herself, that she was not
as selfless in her loving as she once thought, and that she has been beautiful
all along.
This story reminded me of Paul’s thoughts about all of us believers. We,
like Orual, are trapped by our own limited self-knowledge. The things we do which
are good and well thought of by others may indeed mean little to God, who knows
our true hearts in the matter. The things for which we feel deep shame, mainly
from our fear of men may be totally erroneous from God’s point of view.
God’s glory is not something we do, but something we accept. The real glory
of God is revealed through our faces as we simply stop trying to be glorious
creatures and accept that we are transformed into glorious creatures by the Spirit
of God.
Focusing on man’s measures of value will always leave us trapped in unattainable,
just-out-of-our-reach standards for greatness. God invites us to look within
rather than without, to see our real glory. We each are beautiful and glorious
creatures as we are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing
glory, which comes from the Holy Spirit within us. Glory is never about what
you do or how you treat people. Glory is about how much you allow the Spirit
of God to transform your soul. Take off your veil that keeps you from knowing
who you really are in God’s mirror.
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